A Direct Question
by serenidad01
Summary: Most crew evaluation takes place entirely unscheduled.


„Sir, may I ask you a direct question?"

„A _direct_ question, Ensign?", Picard looked up from the Ensigns report, smiling warmly. "What do you define as the nature of such?"

"The nature, Sir?", the Ensign asked, puzzled. "I'm afraid I don't understand your question."

"Yes, I can see that", Picard replied, lowering the PADD. "Haven't you graduated in Basic Diplomatic Right?"

"Yes, Captain."

"That's a rather unusual choice for someone pursuing the security branch for a career in Starfleet."

The young man waited, obviously unconscious of the implicit question. "What arouse your interest in this subject? It's not a very popular course at the Academy, if I recall correctly. Lots of dry stuff and made-up cases to deal with, nothing of interest to most Cadets."

"I … I thought it would be suitable for a security officer to know other means than force", he answered hastily.

Picard rose his eyebrows in surprise. "And what gave you the idea, Ensign?", he asked, placing the PADD on his desk, now directing his full attention to him.

"When we first talked about a ship's security officer's to have the exclusive permission to use forvce on other crew members", he hesitated, as the term "when ordered to" suddenly seemed quite questionable to him, "when it was necessary, and that we were given our weapons for self-protection or to prevent others from harm, as it is laid down in the Stafleet Charta Article 5, Paragraphs three to..."

"I am aware of the basic rules of service in Starfleet", Picard interrupted him gently. "I appreciate your knowledge. Please skip the theoretical aspects and continue with your personal opinion. "

The Ensign took a sharp breath, but the Captain did not look irritated or angry. He had meant exactly what he had said. Following a sudden inspiration, the Ensign apologized. "I am sorry, Sir. It was not my intention to lecture you."  
"Apology accepted, Ensign. Now go on."

It took the younger man a moment to get back to the thought he had started with. "When we first talked about the duty of a security officer aboard a Starfleet vessel", he went on finally, "Our teacher very quickly jumped from the legal basics to concrete examples, so that we would know when to legally use or weapon and when we would face disciplinary action for it. He told us that we should rather use more force on an opponent than less."

"For assets of self-protection, I presume."

"No, Sir", the young man replied, lowering his gaze. "He clearly stated that we should rather obey a superior officer's order than spare our opponent even a large amount of pain.

"And what reason did he give for such course of action?", Picard answered, now seriously interested.

"He did not proclaim it a matter of discipline, Sir", the officer answered, correctly anticipating Picards worst assumption. "To him it was rather... it might sound a little harsh, Sir." He swallowed down a curse as he could not recall the phrase asking to speak his mind. A silence arouse between them and stretched. When it seemed long enough to be easily wrapped around the saucer section, the Ensign gave in and voiced his thoughts straightaway.

Picard obviously suppressed a smile behind his face, which remained expressionless.

"Permission to speak freely is granted, Ensign."

If it wasn't another rule not to thank of ask for orders, the Ensign had done so equally open.

"Well, it seemed like a slight touch of", the young man hesitated, but a shadow of impatience appeared in Picards eyes for the first time, "He seemed a little paranoid about the matter, Sir."

The Captain let the words sink in for a moment. The young man expected an explosion. Yet when Picard spoke, his voice was calm and steady as ever. "How do you reach to that conclusion, Ensign?"

Delighted that he had not been thrown out of the Captain's ready room, the officer relaxed a bit. "He delineated to the matter to us that we would always have to assume that an opponent was, … well, that his basic intention was to harm us. We ought to never take that personal, as we only represented an institution and people would normally forget about the person. Our identity would kind of – disappear behind the uniform. Aboard the _USS Hood_, I have experienced nothing that contradicts this statement, Sir."

Picard nodded, silently telling him to proceed.

"The additional use of force upon him or her would be a safety precaution", the Ensign explained. "In a critical situation, when no contradiction between our orders and the need to harm an opponent occurred, additional violence would be considered a safety precaution. Our superiors would see not need to charge us for it. That, too, has been my experience aboard the _Hood_."

Now it was time for the tricky part. "However, I disagree, Sir."

Picard did not respond at once. When clearing his throat after a few moments, he also signaled the Ensign to take the seat in front of his desk. The younger man lowered himself into the chair as if trying to seat himself on white-glowing coals. Yet he apparently felt as if he had no choice but to go the whole way now.

"I studied Basic Diplomacy and Basic Diplomatic Law because I don't think that someone who attacks a Starfleet officer or other representatives of the Federation has downright destructive intentions concerning toward whoever he attacks", he said slowly, obviously waiting for harsh criticism and dismissal. "He might find himself unable to use other means, or his access to them blocked or denied, yet the apparent urgency of their situation demands immediate action. This pressure then sometimes is translated into violence. It would have been avoidable, if other means had been placed at their disposal."

"Did you have an overall idea of your role in the process when you decided to graduate in the subject?"

"Yes, Sir", the Ensign replied, "I would like to try and talk people out of critical situation... before the use of violence becomes unavoidable, Sir. That would not stop me from defending my fellow officers or the ship's security from potential harm, of course."

It took Picard few seconds to keep his face straight and expressionless, something that had not happened to him in years. At least not during a conversation with an Ensign three years out of the Academy.

"Please keep in mind", the Captain said slowly, "That your own safety may be as precious and worth defending as the ship's one."

The young man looked at him, obviously gathering all the self-consciousness he could muster. "Aye, Sir."

"Dismissed."


End file.
